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Jessica Huerta
August 2, 2016
Physics 1040
Jonathan Barnes
Global Warming: Man Made or Nature Made?
In an ongoing controversial about global warming is whether it is happening because it
was man made or is it naturally caused. According to New Mexico Solar Energy Association,
global warming is, the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due to effect of
greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels or from
deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth. (Global Warming FAQ,
n.d.) I agree that global warming is an issue that everyone living on Earth should know about but
I believe that it is cause by both men and nature.
A few scientists believe that global warming is a natural cause which is not related to
human activity (NASA, n.d.). They believe that the sun could have caused how much solar
energy reaches Earth and that volcano eruptions also have generated particle that could reflect
sunlight and increase greenhouse gasses. There had been two major volcanic events which had
an affect with the greenhouse gasses before in history which are:
El Chichon in 1982 and Pinatubo in 1991, pumped sulfur dioxide gas high into
the atmosphere. The gas was converted into tiny particles that lingered for more
than a year, reflecting sunlight and shading Earths surface (NASA, n.d.)
Another event called EL NIO caused water temperature to be warmer in Southern America.
On the other hand, there are scientist who believe that global warming has been cause by
man. Scientist have found that there are human fingerprints on carbon overload (Scientist, n.d.).
This means that the fossil fuels they found are similar to the ones that are known closed to man.

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Another is that we tend to clear forest which trees help clean the carbon dioxide and without it
there is a lot more CO2 which causes global warming. This leads to that humans are trying to
reestablish what they have damaged by using all the projects mentioned earlier.
Global warming first became an issue during the 1990s (Weart, 2016) and since then has
become a political issue. Though that does not mean it has not been an issue before, in the early
1800s the Industrial revolution started with many jobs for example railroads, land clearing and
population growth speed up the greenhouse effect. Scientist have been doing research for many
years now to see how global warming could be stopped. But how is global warming really
affecting Earth?
There are many effects that global warming is affecting Earth. First of all, it is affecting
our agriculture which means it is affecting our crops and without them there would not be
enough food for people on Earth. An example of this is climate change where if the place is hot
already it will become even more hot which would reduce water and crops will not grow
(Agency, 2016). Other effects of global warming are: the amount of energy we use, our water
supplies, our health, plants and animals, also the ecosystem.
Many projects have taken place since global warming became an issue. A project that has
started in many states is by switching to clean energy (Agency, 2016). This means that many
people have started using solar and wind power, which helps decrease carbon dioxide from the
greenhouse effect. Another project is by using less energy, people start unplugging electronics
that they are not using and switch their appliances with ENERGY STAR (ENERGY STAR,
n.d.) that helps decrease the amount of energy used even when you are not using it. People also
have started to use their vehicles less since it makes about one-third of gas emissions of the
greenhouse effect and causes air pollution (Agency, 2016). They switch to using bikes, walking,

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carpooling, and taking the bus. Many people watch how much water they use for taking
bath/showers, brushing their teeth, etc. since global warming is affecting how much water there
is on this planet because it is drying it out. To stop the water from being scarce people have to
manage how much water they use for example not using enough hot water that the process for
hot water uses energy also not turning on their sprinklers when it rains. In addition to reducing
waste by reusing, reducing, and recycling. These are some of the main projects to stop global
warming from becoming a bigger problem than it is.
To conclude, I believe that global warming has become an issue that everyone should be
aware of. Though it should not matter if it was man or natural cause as long as everyone works
together to slow down the process or end it. This is not an issue that could be fixed easily even if
it was man caused because the population has grown and it will take time until people commit to
change their lifestyles. Also if it was natural cause because if the sun affects it we could not
change how the sun works also how and when volcanos are active.

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Works Cited
Agency, E. P. (2016, March 3). Effects on People and the Environment. Retrieved July
16, 2016, from A Student's Guide to Global Change:
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html
ENERGY STAR. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.energystar.gov/:
https://www.energystar.gov/
Global Warming FAQ. (n.d.). Retrieved July 15, 2016, from New Mexico Solar Energy
Association:
http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Primer/Global_Warming/fossil_fuels_and_glo
bal_warming.htm
NASA. (n.d.). IS CURRENT WARMING NATURAL? Retrieved from NASA: EARTH
OBSERVATORY:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/page4.php
Scientist, U. o. (n.d.). How Do We Know that Humans Are the Major Cause of Global
Warming? Retrieved from Union of Concerned Scientist:
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/humancontribution-to-gw-faq.html#.V5AxabgrLIU
Weart, S. (2016, February). Timeline (Milestones). Retrieved July 16, 2016, from The
Discovery of Global Warming: https://www.aip.org/history/climate/index.htm